Kotri barrage gets flooded as 60 villages inundated

A medium level flood has been declared at the barrage as floods inundate Sehwan, Jamshoro villages.


Our Correspondent August 21, 2013
Pakistani villagers wade through floodwaters on the outskirts of Multan on August 21, 2013. PHOTO: AFP

HYDERABAD: At least 60 villages located on the Indus riverbed in the Matiari and Jamshoro districts went underwater as the Kotri barrage - the last gated structure on the river - received an increased discharge from the river.

A medium level flood has been declared at the barrage where 222,000 cusecs of water were measured in the upstream, while 188,441 cusecs were released in the downstream.

In the Tali town of Sehwan, Jamshoro, at least 30 villages had been submerged by Wednesday morning.

A school and a police station in Nai Wahan village were also inundated, while the district administration arranged for shelter, food, water and health facilities for the displaced people.

The actual number of the displaced people, however, was not available.

According to to Matiari additional deputy commissioner Salik Mirza, dozens of Katcha villages have been flooded. He said that the inhabitants of the riverbed villages have been asked to evacuate but most of them have not complied so far.

A fresh spell of monsoon rains wreaked havoc across the country this week, as areas in northwest and central Pakistan are still recovering from floods earlier this month, amidst high-flood warnings and evacuation notices issued by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

COMMENTS (6)

Careful reader | 10 years ago | Reply This is not answer "there is nothing anyone can do for them." Unacceptable. How about giving them a place to live somewhere else rather than just saying evacuate.
Karachite | 10 years ago | Reply

@Careful reader

Please read the text carefully before commenting.

"At least 60 villages located on the Indus riverbed in the Matiari and Jamshoro districts went underwater as the Kotri barrage – the last gated structure on the river – received an increased discharge from the river".

"He said that the inhabitants of the riverbed villages have been asked to evacuate but most of them have not complied so far".

The villages which were inundated are located on the riverbed itself. Obviously when the river floods the "riverbed" and everything on it will be covered with water. Building houses and structures on the riverbed is illegal for this very reason. And they were told to evacuate for this very reason, but they chose to stay put.

This is the same as someone sitting on a chair in the middle of shahrah-e-faisal during rush hour (when people are telling him not to do so as its dangerous and asking them to get off the road) and then complaining when he gets hit by a fast moving vehicle.

There's nothing anyone can do to help in this situation, either military ruler or political party, be it PPP, PTI, MQM or anyone else. Unless of course Altaf bhai has the divine gift of parting water at will, like Harzat Moosa parted the Red Sea.

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